Abstract:This paper determines the worst-case gust response of a typical airfoil section with a control surface. Matched filter theory is employed in order to compute the gust that produces a maximum response. These results are compared with a tuned one-minus-cosine gust, one of the standard representations of discrete gusts. It is found that the responses obtained by the matched filter theory are about twice as large as those obtained using the one-minus-cosine gust. Moreover, it is found that the hinge stiffness of the control surface can affect the plunging motion